European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has said the EU must spend more money on defence to “prepare for any eventuality”.
Metsola spoke to Politico after US presidential candidate Donald Trump suggested he would “encourage” Russia to attack NATO members that don’t meet their financial obligations.
“[The EU] must be ready to shoulder the responsibility if necessary and be ready for any eventuality,” Metsola said.
“Europe cannot waver, when we see what could happen across the Atlantic … Europe needs to stand strong.”
Metsola said the European Parliament would continue pushing for joint procurement and development of weapons to be “finance by the EU through a dedicated budget under parliamentary co-decision and scrutiny”.
However, she stressed that a European “defence union” should complement NATO, not compete against it.
The EU spent a record €270 billion on defence in 2023 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
EPP head Manfred Weber recently said that the EU needs to build a nuclear umbrella to act as a deterrent against Russia.
In an interview with Lovin Malta, PL MEP candidate Clint Azzopardi Flores warned that Weber’s statement flies in the face of the EU’s history as a promoter of peace and nuclear disarmament.
“The EU has encouraged countries to sign and ratify the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty but all of a sudden, we are now hearing that they want to produce nuclear weapons to act as a deterrent against Russia, which doesn’t make sense.”
Moreover, he warned that this will make the EU lose credibility in its JCPOA action plan to ensure that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful.
“The JCPOA is intended to give the EU visibility on what Iran is doing in terms of water enrichment and uranium, but do you think Iran will take the EU seriously when it is now telling countries to start producing nuclear weapons to act as a deterrent against Russia? It doesn’t make sense.”
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Should the EU spend more money on defence?
